U.K. Shop-Price Inflation Eases to Lowest in 16 Months, BRC Says

U.K. shop-price inflation slowed in
December to the lowest in 16 months as retailers discounted
electrical goods and clothes to lure holiday shoppers, the
British Retail Consortium said.

Retail prices rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier, down
from 2 percent in November, the trade group and Nielsen Co. said
in an e-mailed report in London today. A separate report from
KPMG LLP showed hiring for full-time jobs dropped for a third
month in December.

Slowing inflation may ease pressure on consumers and help
encourage domestic demand this year. The Bank of England, which
will probably maintain its emergency stimulus for the economy
tomorrow, has forecast that consumer-price growth will slow
sharply in the coming months.

“This is a good bit of New Year news for customers,”
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said in a statement.
“Consumers are likely to rein in spending in the wake of
Christmas and price will remain the key battleground between
retailers.”

KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said
an index of hiring of full-time staff rose to 48.5 in December
from 48.2 the previous month. A measure of demand for temporary
staff dropped to 49 from 50.9 in November. Readings below 50
indicate contraction.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will
maintain its bond-purchase target at 275 billion pounds ($426
billion) tomorrow, according to all but one of 41 economists in
a Bloomberg News survey. It will also maintain its benchmark
interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent, according to a
separate survey of 53 economists.